All general donations will be allocated to CACHA projects based on the area of greatest need.
Your generous donations will help CACHA provide life saving healthcare to remote communities in Gabon, Bénin, Tanzania and Uganda.

Mission Cost: $2,820 (does not include airfare) Estimated Flight Cost: $2,000 - $2, 300 (International flight + 15% administration fee on cost of flight) **Please note departure dates and flight costs are subject to change based on availability. CACHA medical missions are non-profit and 100% self-funded. The field cost to participate in a CACHA medical mission is $2,820 which is disbursed over a variety of mission-related expenses including; accommodation, food, in-country transportation, allowances for locally engaged partners, medical and logistics equipment and supplies, communications, customs, medical treatments and referrals for patients, as well as CACHA overhead and management, CACHA membership fee, and helps to support many of our CACHA projects. All donations submitted to CACHA toward payment of mission costs and plane tickets are tax deductible. This is in line with CACHA medical mission policy and the Canadian Revenue Agency. All donations submitted toward a participant’s flight are tax deductible. The approximate total cost for a medical mission in Bénin is $5,160 ($2820 field cost + airline ticket + 15% administration fee on actual cost of airline ticket) Mission Co-Leads: Nini Cohen and Genevieve Larouche

To join this mission, please complete and send an application form, along with your CV to CACHA's Assistant Project Officer at apo@cacha.ca, as well as to the Mission Co-Leads, Nini Cohen at ninicohenca@gmail.com and Genevieve Larouche at genlarouche@yahoo.ca

About

Location: Aklampa, Department of Colin, Benin

Partners: Alliance de Santé Communautaire Canada Bénin (ASCCB)

Beneficiaries: About 2,800 patients per year

Objective: To provide health care to isolated villages of Benin Achieved Results and Activities Through close collaboration with our sister NGO, the Canada-Bénin Community Health Alliance, we have created a long-lasting and cooperative relationship with two isolated rural communities—Aklampa and Anoum—chosen for their lack of access to primary health care. Aklampa is an isolated community located in central Bénin, and Anoum is in northern Bénin near Djougou. CACHA medical teams have been visiting these two communities since 2003 once or twice each year. Also in Aklampa, our partnership with the 'Better Africa' Foundation gives us access to an unused hospital where we can perform more extensive procedures. And, in partnership with the sanitary zone hospital of Dassa, our volunteer surgeons perform free surgeries in cooperation with the local surgeon.

The project in Bénin came about from the suggestion of Marcel Hamelin while he was still Rector of the University of Ottawa. In September 2002, a team of medical experts went to provide extensive services including medical treatments and medications to over 3,000 patients.

CACHA’s main Beninese partner is the Alliance de Santé Communautaire Canada Bénin (ASCCB), composed mainly of a group of local physicians who have been helping in determining which villages CACHA should visit. After the first health care caravan to a number of villages, it was decided, with the help of our local partner, to target two communities: Aklampa in the center of the country and Anoum in the northern part of Bénin.

Since the first mission in November 2004 approximately 20,000 patients have been treated. The highest number of patients seen was reported in November 2006 at 3,463 patients. The average to date has been computed at 2,857 patients per trip. The average amount of prescriptions filled per trip has been approximately 12,000.

Future Plan: CACHA is planning to continue having at least one mission per year and it will also continue to support the Anoum dispensary by paying the salary of one nurse.

For up to date travel information, please consult the Government of Canada - Travel Advice and Advisories site: http://travel.gc.ca/destinations/ The World Health Organization has a comprehensive website on the Ebola virus. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/